Love's Labours Lost Play: Overview of Love's Labours Lost Genre classification: Love’s Labours Lost is a Comedy play . Main characters in Love’s Labours Lost: Ferdinand: King of Navarre, who woos the princess of France. Princess of France: Beautiful woman who captures the heart of the King of Navarre Berowne: Lord at Ferdinand’s court. He is in love with Rosaline. Rosaline: Lady attending the Princess of France. Longaville: Lord at Ferdinand’s court. He is in love with Maria. Maria: Lady attending the Princess of France. Dumain: Lord at Ferdinand’s court. He is in love with Katherine. Katherine: Lady attending the Princess of France. Don Adriano de Armado: Garrulous knight who loves Jaquenetta passionately. See full list of characters in Love’s Labours Lost . Love’s Labours Lost themes: Those who claim to love someone can’t be trusted until they have proved themselves over time. Other themes are the contrast between one’s desires and the effort required to bring them about, and that there is only one kind of love – that of a man for a woman, Love of learning comes a poor second.

The play is also a satire on the ineffectiveness of the attempted invasion of England by the Spanish when the Spanish armada was defeated by a smaller English fleet, reflecting on the bumbling, pathetic action of the Spanish King, Philip II. Love’s Labours Lost Play Resources: The Settings of Shakespeare's Plays Shakespeare Hits the Big Time Bard Bites Dramatist and Shakespearean scholar Nicholas Rowe was the first to write a critical (annotated) edition of Shakespeare's works. ___ The average length of a play in Elizabethan England was 3000 lines. With 4,042 lines and 29,551 words, Hamlet is the longest Shakespearean play (based on the first edition of The Riverside Shakespeare (1974)). With 1,787 lines and 14,369 words, The Comedy of Errors is the shortest Shakespearean play (also based on the first edition of The Riverside Shakespeare). ___ Shakespeare's late comedies are considered romances: The Winter's Tale, The Tempest, Cymbeline, and Pericles. The Two Noble Kinsman is also sometimes mentioned along side these other plays as a romantic comedy.

___ Love's Labour's Lost has the highest percentage of rhyming lines of all of Shakespeare's plays. According to Shakespearean scholar Tucker Brooke, 62.2% of the lines in Love's Labour's Lost rhyme. The closest competitor is A Midsummer Night's Dream, with 43.4% rhyming lines. ___ The historical time of King Lear is roughly 800 BC, making it the second-earliest setting of any of Shakespeare's plays. Click here to find out the first. Shakespeare and Spain - Yes Magazine Shakespeare and Spain Ferdinand of Navarre Shakespeare and Spain William Shakespeare liked to write about foreign countries. It made his plays seem more exotic and it was a guarantee that nobody at home could take offence 1 thinking that he or she was being ridiculed. Shakespeare sets plays in 2 Italy, France, Greece, Austria, Anatolia, Egypt, Bohemia and Denmark. But what about ‘the elephant in the room’? Spain was the European superpower in Shakespeare’s day, so it seems odd 3 that he hardly 4 mentions the country.

After all, in 1588 when Shakespeare was 24 and starting out as a playwright 5 Spain had made a serious attempt 6 to invade England. A third of Shakespeare’s canon was written after James I made peace with Spain in 1604, during a period in which Spanish art and culture flooded into 7 England. What’s more, Shakespeare’s English contemporaries wrote about Spain. Kyd famously wrote The Spanish Tragedy (1587) and Greene wrote The Comical History of Alphonsus, King of Aragon (c. 1589) while 8 Dekker left us Lust’s Dominion (c. 1600), and Middleton wrote The Changeling (1622), set in Alicante. We have only the names of other ‘Spanish’ plays written in England during the period including The Spanish Comedy, Philip of Spain, Spanish Fig, The Conquest of Spain and The Spanish Moor’s Tragedy. Shakespeare’s Spanish Play Ferdinand of Navarre Of course, in one sense Shakespeare did leave 9 us a Spanish play. Love’s Labour’s Lost (c.

1594) is set in Navarre, which by 10 Shakespeare’s time was a part of Spain. However, the play is set at some point before Navarre was annexed by Spain in 1513 and the country has a king, the play’s central character. On the other hand, in the play the King of Navarre is called Ferdinand and the only person of that name ever to rule 11 in Navarre was Ferdinand of Aragon, the king of Spain. Did Shakespeare visit Navarre? The evidence would suggest not. There is not a single toponymic reference 12 in Love’s Labour’s Lost. Armado: Shakespeare’s Spaniard In any case Shakespeare’s best-known Spaniard appears in Love’s Labour’s Lost. Don Adriano de Armado is a Spanish knight 13 resident at the Navarrese court. On the one hand, Armado is a comic character, based on Thraso, the braggart 14 soldier in Roman comedy. This classical character was well-loved by Shakespeare and he used it as the basis for two of his great English comic characters, Sir John Falstaff and Pistol.

Indeed, 15 it has been suggested that Shakespeare might have acted the part of Armado when the play was first performed. Armado is more than just 16 a figure of fun. His reverence for a vanished 17 world of chivalry 18 provokes pathos and is never contemptible. 19 He is a proud, impoverished 20 Spaniard much like Don Quixote de La Mancha, though fascinatingly Cervantes didn’t start to publish his novel until a decade later in 1605. Next: Shakespeare’s Other Spaniards Part 2 will be published on March 10th. Yes Shakespeare Special Buy Yes Shakespeare Special (136 pages + 1 hour of audio) for just €3.50 (digital) or €9.95 (deluxe print edition).

to take offence (take-took-taken) – be offended, feel insulted ↩ to set a play in – put the action of a play in ↩ odd – strange, surprising ↩ hardly – rarely, seldom, almost not ↩ playwright – dramatist ↩ to flood into – enter in great quantities ↩ while – around the same time ↩ did leave – (emphatic) left ↩ by – (in this case) already before. ‘By’ implies that something was true before a point in time and continues to be true after that point in time. ↩ to rule – be the monarch ↩ toponymic reference – place name ↩ knight – gentleman, minor member of the nobility ↩ braggart – sb. who talks proudly of his triumphs ↩ indeed – (emphatic) in fact ↩ just – (in this case) simply ↩ vanished – that has disappeared ↩ 30MinuteShakespeare.com | the Plays The Plays The Tempest • Twelfth Night • Two Gentlemen of Verona The 30-Minute Shakespeare Anthology contains 18 abridged scenes, including monologues, from 18 of Shakespeare's best-known plays.

Every scene features interpretive stage directions and detailed performance and monologue notes, all "road tested" at the Folger Shakespeare Library's annual Student Shakespeare Festival. The scenes and monologues in this anthology have been selected with both teachers and students in mind, providing a complete toolkit for an unforgettable performance, audition, or competition. To purchase a downloadable PDF of this play, click the BUY NOW Button. Purchase of PDFs in the series includes full performance rights and the right to reproduce the script (as needed) for one set of performances. Please note: Clicking below will navigate you away from the website. After payment is complete, you will be redirected back for download of your script. If not redirected back to this site, click the yellow 'DOWNLOAD YOUR PURCHASE HERE' button on the PayPal page, to download your PDF. Thanks! This thirty-minute cutting focuses on three ridiculously funny and vibrant scenes from A Midsummer Night's Dream. The first scene starts with Puck mistakenly anointing the eyes of the wrong lovers with love potion, leading to a madcap chase scene between Helena, Lysander, Hermia, and Demetrius. Scene two features Bottom's magical transformation to an ass, always an audience favorite.

The final scene is the classic play within a play, where the "Rude Mechanicals" act out with "tragical mirth" the story of Pyramus and Thisbe, with specific comic suggestions for the characters, including Lion chasing Thisbe into the audience! The edition includes a preface by Nick Newlin, containing helpful advice on how to put on a Shakespeare performance in a high school class with novice actors, as well as an appendix with suggestions for the specific play and recommendations for further resources. To purchase a downloadable PDF of this play, click the BUY NOW Button. Purchase of PDFs in the series includes full performance rights and the right to reproduce the script (as needed) for one set of performances. Please note: Clicking below will navigate you away from the website. After payment is complete, you will be redirected back for download of your script. If not redirected back to this site, click the yellow 'DOWNLOAD YOUR PURCHASE HERE' button on the PayPal page, to download your PDF. Thanks! This edition of As You Like It features Rosalind, disguised as a man, "teaching" the art of romantic wooing to Orlando.

The cutting includes Jaques's "Seven Ages of Man" speech, Touchstone the Fool's courtship of Audrey, and the hilarious love triangle between Silvius, Phebe, and Rosalind (as Ganymede). There is also an essay by editor Nick Newlin on how to produce a Shakespeare play with novice actors, and notes about the original production of this abridgement at the Folger Shakespeare Library's annual Student Shakespeare Festival. To purchase a downloadable PDF of this play, click the BUY NOW Button. Purchase of PDFs in the series includes full performance rights and the right to reproduce the script (as needed) for one set of performances. Please note: Clicking below will navigate you away from the website. After payment is complete, you will be redirected back for download of your script. If not redirected back to this site, click the yellow 'DOWNLOAD YOUR PURCHASE HERE' button on the PayPal page, to download your PDF. Thanks! This edition of The Comedy of Errors offers five raucous scenes in an extravaganza of mistaken identity. The foibles of Antipholus of Ephesus, Dromio of Ephesus, and their identical twin counterparts from Syracuse are a hilarious spectacle to act and stage.

There is also an essay by editor Nick Newlin on how to produce a Shakespeare play with novice actors, and notes about the original production of this abridgement at the Folger Shakespeare Library's annual Student Shakespeare Festival. To purchase a downloadable PDF of this play, click the BUY NOW Button. Purchase of PDFs in the series includes full performance rights and the right to reproduce the script (as needed) for one set of performances. Please note: Clicking below will navigate you away from the website. After payment is complete, you will be redirected back for download of your script. If not redirected back to this site, click the yellow 'DOWNLOAD YOUR PURCHASE HERE' button on the PayPal page, to download your PDF. Thanks! Hamlet: The 30-Minute Shakespeare offers five scenes from this enduring tragedy. The Ghost of Hamlet's father calls for vengeance, and Hamlet uses the players to prove Claudius guilty. The cutting includes the murder of Polonius, Ophelia's mad scene, and the timeless To be or not to be speech, climaxing in the swordfight and poisoning that bring the story to its riveting end.

The edition includes helpful advice by Nick Newlin on how to put on a Shakespeare production in a high school class with novice actors, as well as tips for performing the specific play and recommendations for further resources. To purchase a downloadable PDF of this play, click the BUY NOW Button. Purchase of PDFs in the series includes full performance rights and the right to reproduce the script (as needed) for one set of performances. Please note: Clicking below will navigate you away from the website. After payment is complete, you will be redirected back for download of your script. If not redirected back to this site, click the yellow 'DOWNLOAD YOUR PURCHASE HERE' button on the PayPal page, to download your PDF. Thanks! This edition of Henry IV, Part 1 includes tavern revelry, highway robbery, and a splendid role-reversal scene between the inimitable Falstaff and the young Prince Hal. The cutting also features Hal's touching reconciliation with his father, followed by his brutal rejection of Falstaff, his former friend. There is also an essay by editor Nick Newlin on how to produce a Shakespeare play with novice actors, and notes about the original production of this abridgement at the Folger Shakespeare Library's annual Student Shakespeare Festival.

To purchase a downloadable PDF of this play, click the BUY NOW Button. Purchase of PDFs in the series includes full performance rights and the right to reproduce the script (as needed) for one set of performances. Please note: Clicking below will navigate you away from the website. After payment is complete, you will be redirected back for download of your script. If not redirected back to this site, click the yellow 'DOWNLOAD YOUR PURCHASE HERE' button on the PayPal page, to download your PDF. Thanks! Julius Caesar: The 30-Minute Shakespeare presents eight spellbinding scenes from this timeless masterpiece. The action begins as the soothsayer warns Caesar of the Ides of March and continues as Brutus conspires against Caesar. Other key scenes include Caesar's riveting assassination and Antony's stirring funeral oration. This adaptation closes with Cinna the Poet's death at the hands of the mob, the quarrel between Brutus and Cassius, and Brutus' suicide. The edition includes a preface by Nick Newlin containing helpful advice on presenting Shakespeare in a high school setting with novice actors, as well as an appendix with play-specific suggestions and recommendations for further resources.

To purchase a downloadable PDF of this play, click the BUY NOW Button. Purchase of PDFs in the series includes full performance rights and the right to reproduce the script (as needed) for one set of performances. Please note: Clicking below will navigate you away from the website. After payment is complete, you will be redirected back for download of your script. If not redirected back to this site, click the yellow 'DOWNLOAD YOUR PURCHASE HERE' button on the PayPal page, to download your PDF. Thanks! This edition of King Lear renders six powerful scenes, beginning with Lear's banishment of Cordelia. Brother Edmund's villainous plotting, the Fool's witty wordplay, and Lear's madness during the storm on the heath are stage drama at its best. There is also an essay by editor Nick Newlin on how to produce a Shakespeare play with novice actors, and notes about the original production of this abridgement at the Folger Shakespeare Library's annual Student Shakespeare Festival. To purchase a downloadable PDF of this play, click the BUY NOW Button. Purchase of PDFs in the series includes full performance rights and the right to reproduce the script (as needed) for one set of performances.

Please note: Clicking below will navigate you away from the website. After payment is complete, you will be redirected back for download of your script. If not redirected back to this site, click the yellow 'DOWNLOAD YOUR PURCHASE HERE' button on the PayPal page, to download your PDF. Thanks! This edition of Love's Labour's Lost features three scenes from the tale of King Navarre and his three lords, who have vowed to retire from women for three years. Naturally, the Princess of France and her three ladies arrive, and comedic courtship ensues. There is also an essay by editor Nick Newlin on how to produce a Shakespeare play with novice actors, and notes about the original production of this abridgement at the Folger Shakespeare Library's annual Student Shakespeare Festival. To purchase a downloadable PDF of this play, click the BUY NOW Button. Purchase of PDFs in the series includes full performance rights and the right to reproduce the script (as needed) for one set of performances. Please note: Clicking below will navigate you away from the website. After payment is complete, you will be redirected back for download of your script.

If not redirected back to this site, click the yellow 'DOWNLOAD YOUR PURCHASE HERE' button on the PayPal page, to download your PDF. Thanks! This thirty-minute Macbeth packs seven key scenes into a play cutting so powerful that actors choose to refer to it only as "The Scottish Play." We open with the Weird Sisters predicting Macbeth's fate, followed by Macbeth and his villainous wife's plot to kill and then carry out the murder of King Duncan. This cutting also features the appearance of Banquo's ghost at the banquet, the Witches' unforgettable "double double toil and trouble" scene, and Lady Macbeth's riveting "out, damned spot" sleepwalk. This endlessly entertaining edition ends with the entire cast reciting Macbeth's poignant "tomorrow, tomorrow, and tomorrow" speech in unison. The edition includes a preface by Nick Newlin, containing helpful advice on how to put on a Shakespeare performance in a high school class with novice actors, as well as an appendix with suggestions for the specific play and recommendations for further resources. To purchase a downloadable PDF of this play, click the BUY NOW Button.

Purchase of PDFs in the series includes full performance rights and the right to reproduce the script (as needed) for one set of performances. Please note: Clicking below will navigate you away from the website. After payment is complete, you will be redirected back for download of your script. If not redirected back to this site, click the yellow 'DOWNLOAD YOUR PURCHASE HERE' button on the PayPal page, to download your PDF. Thanks! This edition of The Merchant of Venice features eight scenes, including Shylock's original loan to Antonio, the comic interlude of two foreign princes competing for Portia's hand, and the climax in the courtroom where Portia, disguised as a lawyer, combines logic with humanity to demolish Shylock. There is also an essay by editor Nick Newlin on how to produce a Shakespeare play with novice actors, and notes about the original production of this abridgement at the Folger Shakespeare Library's annual Student Shakespeare Festival. To purchase a downloadable PDF of this play, click the BUY NOW Button. Purchase of PDFs in the series includes full performance rights and the right to reproduce the script (as needed) for one set of performances. Please note: Clicking below will navigate you away from the website.

After payment is complete, you will be redirected back for download of your script. If not redirected back to this site, click the yellow 'DOWNLOAD YOUR PURCHASE HERE' button on the PayPal page, to download your PDF. Thanks! We begin this merry cutting with one of Shakespeare's favorite fat knights, Sir John Falstaff, who announces his intention to woo both Mistress Ford and Mistress Page simultaneously, to the delight of his cohorts Bardolph, Pistol, and Nym, who then decide to double-cross Falstaff. The characters' movements on stage are clearly denoted so that even inexperienced actors can give the scenes life. Robin is nearsighted, Bardolph is a drunk who tries to juggle, and Pistol and Nym are constantly jostling for position. Other key moments include the hilarious wooing of Mistress Ford by Falstaff and the hysterical concealment of Falstaff in the laundry basket. The cutting ends in the woods with Falstaff dressed as a stag, being tormented by fairies for his comeuppance.

The edition includes a preface by Nick Newlin, containing helpful advice on how to put on a Shakespeare performance in a high school class with novice actors, as well as an appendix with suggestions for the specific play and recommendations for further resources. To purchase a downloadable PDF of this play, click the BUY NOW Button. Purchase of PDFs in the series includes full performance rights and the right to reproduce the script (as needed) for one set of performances. Please note: Clicking below will navigate you away from the website. After payment is complete, you will be redirected back for download of your script. If not redirected back to this site, click the yellow 'DOWNLOAD YOUR PURCHASE HERE' button on the PayPal page, to download your PDF. Thanks! This thirty-minute cutting of Shakespeare's utterly charming and popular comedy Much Ado About Nothing features five key scenes, including Beatrice and Benedick's classic initial word-battle, and the uproarious hide-and-seek deception of the two "lovers." The next scenes are the brutal rejection of Hero at the altar by a deceived Claudio and the timeless manhandling of the English language by the bumbling constable Dogberry.

In the fifth and final scene, Shakespeare resolves the play's conflicts and confusions, and love reigns again. This cutting really tells the story, and includes some sidesplitting stage business, particularly the back-and-forth physical and verbal parrying between Benedick and Beatrice. The edition includes a preface by Nick Newlin, containing helpful advice on how to put on a Shakespeare performance in a high school class with novice actors, as well as an appendix with suggestions for the specific play and recommendations for further resources. To purchase a downloadable PDF of this play, click the BUY NOW Button. Purchase of PDFs in the series includes full performance rights and the right to reproduce the script (as needed) for one set of performances. Please note: Clicking below will navigate you away from the website. After payment is complete, you will be redirected back for download of your script. If not redirected back to this site, click the yellow 'DOWNLOAD YOUR PURCHASE HERE' button on the PayPal page, to download your PDF. Thanks! This edition of Othello highlights the dramatic build as the venomous Iago systematically deceives Othello about his wife Desdemona, drawing the Moor into a jealous rage.

The plot concludes with Othello outrageously smothering Desdemona, discovering the truth of Iago's deception, and committing suicide. There is also an essay by editor Nick Newlin on how to produce a Shakespeare play with novice actors, and notes about the original production of this abridgement at the Folger Shakespeare Library's annual Student Shakespeare Festival. To purchase a downloadable PDF of this play, click the BUY NOW Button. Purchase of PDFs in the series includes full performance rights and the right to reproduce the script (as needed) for one set of performances. Please note: Clicking below will navigate you away from the website. After payment is complete, you will be redirected back for download of your script. If not redirected back to this site, click the yellow 'DOWNLOAD YOUR PURCHASE HERE' button on the PayPal page, to download your PDF. Thanks! This edition of Romeo and Juliet is edited to four key scenes, starting with the lyrical Prologue and the foreboding opening brawl. The cutting includes the timeless balcony scene; the harsh scolding of Juliet by her father; and the final moments at the tomb.

Also included is an essay by series editor Nick Newlin on how to produce a Shakespeare play with novice actors, and notes about the original production of this abridgement at the Folger Shakespeare Library's annual Student Shakespeare Festival. To purchase a downloadable PDF of this play, click the BUY NOW Button. Purchase of PDFs in the series includes full performance rights and the right to reproduce the script (as needed) for one set of performances. Please note: Clicking below will navigate you away from the website. After payment is complete, you will be redirected back for download of your script. If not redirected back to this site, click the yellow 'DOWNLOAD YOUR PURCHASE HERE' button on the PayPal page, to download your PDF. Thanks! This edition of The Taming of the Shrew features seven scenes, including Bianca's courtship by Lucentio and Hortensio disguised as pedants, Petruchio's relentless "taming" of Kate, the outlandish marriage scene, and Kate's famous speech in praise of wives submitting to their husbands.

There is also an essay by editor Nick Newlin on how to produce a Shakespeare play with novice actors, and notes about the original production of this abridgement at the Folger Shakespeare Library's annual Student Shakespeare Festival. To purchase a downloadable PDF of this play, click the BUY NOW Button. Purchase of PDFs in the series includes full performance rights and the right to reproduce the script (as needed) for one set of performances. Please note: Clicking below will navigate you away from the website. After payment is complete, you will be redirected back for download of your script. If not redirected back to this site, click the yellow 'DOWNLOAD YOUR PURCHASE HERE' button on the PayPal page, to download your PDF. Thanks! The Tempest: The 30-Minute Shakespeare offers eight scenes from this rich comedy. Beginning with the magical storm and shipwreck, this adaptation includes the uproarious discovery of the monster Caliban and his plot to kill Prospero. Included are the heartfelt marriage vows between Ferdinand and Miranda, the disguised antics of fairy Ariel, and Prospero's poetic abjuration of his rough magic.

The edition includes a preface by Nick Newlin containing helpful advice on how to put on a Shakespeare performance in a high school class with novice actors as well as an appendix with suggestions for the specific play and recommendations for further resources. To purchase a downloadable PDF of this play, click the BUY NOW Button. Purchase of PDFs in the series includes full performance rights and the right to reproduce the script (as needed) for one set of performances. Please note: Clicking below will navigate you away from the website. After payment is complete, you will be redirected back for download of your script. If not redirected back to this site, click the yellow 'DOWNLOAD YOUR PURCHASE HERE' button on the PayPal page, to download your PDF. Thanks! This thirty-minute edit of Shakespeare's bittersweet comic masterpiece consists of three classic scenes. After an extended introductory narration, the action begins with Feste the Fool consoling a mourning Lady Olivia with wit and wordplay. Viola (disguised as a male Cesario) woos Olivia on behalf of Duke Orsino, but Olivia falls for the messenger Viola/Cesario instead. Specific stage directions and character activities allow even novice actors to breathe life into these scenes.

This lively cutting includes a group "rap" version of the song "Come Away Death." The final scene in Olivia's kitchen gives young actors an easy and specific way to play late-night revelry with Sir Toby Belch and company, including the ever-censorious Malvolio. The edition includes a preface by Nick Newlin, containing helpful advice on how to put on a Shakespeare performance in a high school class with novice actors, as well as an appendix with suggestions for the specific play and recommendations for further resources. To purchase a downloadable PDF of this play, click the BUY NOW Button. Purchase of PDFs in the series includes full performance rights and the right to reproduce the script (as needed) for one set of performances. Please note: Clicking below will navigate you away from the website. After payment is complete, you will be redirected back for download of your script. If not redirected back to this site, click the yellow 'DOWNLOAD YOUR PURCHASE HERE' button on the PayPal page, to download your PDF. Thanks! The Two Gentlemen of Verona: The 30-Minute Shakespeare presents six captivating scenes from this high-spirited play.

Proteus pledges his love to Julia, but then falls in love with Silvia, who had planned to elope with Proteus's bosom buddy Valentine. This classic story features hilarious cross-dressing, clever disguises, and intriguing mistaken identities. It also includes the uproarious monologue featuring Launce and his dog Crab. The edition includes helpful advice by Nick Newlin on how to put on a Shakespeare production in a high school class with novice actors, as well as tips for performing the specific play and recommendations for further resources. To purchase a downloadable PDF of this play, click the BUY NOW Button. Purchase of PDFs in the series includes full performance rights and the right to reproduce the script (as needed) for one set of performances. Please note: Clicking below will navigate you away from the website. After payment is complete, you will be redirected back for download of your script. If not redirected back to this site, click the yellow 'DOWNLOAD YOUR PURCHASE HERE' button on the PayPal page, to download your PDF. Thanks! Shakespeare's Plays: Common Questions about Shakespeare's Plays Shakespeare's Plays: General Questions I would like to know more about the categories Shakespeare's works fall into and why.

Shakespeare's works fall into three main categories: the plays, the sonnets, and the poems. The plays are further divided into three (sometimes four) categories: the comedies, the histories, the tragedies, and the romances. I will give you some information on the subdivisions of the plays. The Comedies Eighteen of Shakespeare's plays are usually among the comedies: Comedy of Errors, Taming of the Shrew, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Love's Labours Lost, The Tempest, The Winter's Tale, Cymbeline, Pericles, All's Well that End's Well, Measure for Measure, Troilus and Cressida (sometimes classified as a tragedy), Twelfth Night, As You Like It, Much Ado About Nothing, The Merchant of Venice, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and The Two Noble Kinsmen (which many believe is not a work written totally by Shakespeare). The comedies have common elements: they involve lovers and they almost always have a happy ending.

The Tragedies Ten plays are considered tragedies: Titus Andronicus, Romeo and Juliet, King Lear, Hamlet, Othello, Julius Caesar, Macbeth, Antony and Cleopatra, Coriolanus, and Timon of Athens. All the tragedies have a hero (or protagonist) that must overcome external and internal obstacles. Often, the protagonist has a 'tragic flaw' that leads to his ultimate destruction. A good example is Macbeth, whose evil ambition for the throne overtakes him and causes his downfall. The Histories Shakespeare wrote ten history plays: Parts 1, 2, and 3 of Henry VI, Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2, Henry V, Richard II, Richard III, King John, and Henry VIII. He received most of his information and plot ideas from one book, Holinshed's Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland. The central theme of the history plays is the gain and loss of power, and, in particular, the theme of divine right. Shakespeare spends a lot of time discussing what makes a good, wise, and successful ruler in his history plays. The Romances Sometimes Shakespeare's late comedies are grouped together as romances.

These are Pericles, Cymbeline, The Winter's Tale, and The Tempest, and (rarely, The Two Noble Kinsmen). These plays, at times, seem more like tragedies than comedies, but they have the standard 'happy ending'. Many believe that the romances are Shakespeare's best plays, and represent the poet at his most mature stage of writing. Have all of Shakespeare's plays been performed? All of Shakespeare's canonical plays (those that are always included in his collected works) have been performed at some time. However, some of them, as far as we know, were not performed during Shakespeare's lifetime -- like King John. However, we must be careful because even though we have no record of a performance, it does not necessarily mean that there was no performance. Which plays are considered romances? Shakespeare's late comedies are considered romances -- The Winter's Tale, The Tempest, Cymbeline, and Pericles. The Two Noble Kinsman is also sometimes mentioned along side these other plays as a romantic comedy. Did Shakespeare perform in any of his own plays? We will never know for sure exactly how many roles Shakespeare played himself, although we do have some general information.

First, we know that Shakespeare began his career on the stage by 1592, because there is a surviving document by Robert Greene -- there's more about him on my biography page ( Scholars believe that Shakespeare might have played the title role in Edward I (a play by Edward Peele) in 1593. It is also assumed that Shakespeare played smaller roles in a variety of his own plays, including Macbeth (King Duncan), As You Like It (Adam), Henry IV (King Henry), and Hamlet (Hamlet's Father). Nicholas Rowe, Shakespeare's first biographer, mentioned that Shakespeare's role as "the Ghost in his own Hamlet" was "the top of his performance". How many of Shakespeare's plays are set in Italy? The plays in which some or all of the action is set in Italy are: All's Well that Ends Well, Antony and Cleopatra, Coriolanus, Cymbeline, Julius Caesar, The Merchant of Venice, Much Ado About Nothing, Othello, Romeo and Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew, Titus Andronicus, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, and The Winter's Tale.

Keep in mind that some of these plays are not set exclusively in Italy. What is the meaning of farce as defined in Shakespeare's plays? Farce is a form of comedy, with little or no purpose other than to prompt laughter from the audience. Physical humour (slapstick) and ridiculous situations are trademarks of a farce. Shakespeare did not write any plays that would be classified as a farce, although The Comedy of Errors and The Taming of the Shrew come close. The Taming of the Shrew has been performed several times as a farce, using the particular form of staging a farce -- commedia dell'arte. Define tragedy as it relates to Shakespeare's plays. Tragedy, as it relates to Shakespeare's plays, is a drama dealing with a central protagonist, or hero, who has to battle a specific problem or series of problems. Usually the hero overcomes these problems but the outcome is not positive. In almost all Shakespeare's great tragedies, a "tragic flaw" will prevent the hero from emerging completely victorious. What is the Shakespeare Apocrypha?

The term apocrypha is given to the collection of 12 plays that some scholars believe to be Shakespeare's, but are not officially part of the current canon of works because no real proof of authenticity has ever been brought forth. Here are the names of the 12 apocryphal plays: Locrine; The London Prodigal; The Puritan; Thomas, Lord Cromwell; Sir John Oldcastle; Arden of Feversham; A Yorkshire Tragedy; The Birth of Merlin; Edward III; Fair Em; Mucedorus; and The Merry Devil of Edmonton. _________ Love's Labour's Lost - Bluff your Way Through the Play | Seattle Shakespeare Company By Jeff Fickes Loving the Language of Love Harold Bloom, a noted Shakespeare scholar calls Love’s Labour’s Lost “a festival of language, an exuberant fireworks display in which Shakespeare seems to seek the limits of his verbal resources, and discovers that there are none.” Be on the lookout for word play, puns and complex language. Remember, Shakespeare’s presenting an educated class of royalty and nobles, so their use of language and verbal agility is going to be on display. Words, Words, Words Love’s Labour’s Lost has plenty of them!

It’s one of Shakespeare’s most talkative plays. According to some, it uses more “new” words (words that the playwright hadn’t ever used before) than any of Shakespeare’s previous plays. What’s in Name? There’s been some discrepancy over the spelling of one of the King of Navarre’s best buddies. Is it Berowne? Biron? Barrone? It is different depending upon the edition of the play you refer to. No Way to Treat a Lady Alas, the Princess of France isn’t ever given a name. She’s just referred to as the Princess of France. Speaking of Words… Love’s Labour’s Lost contains the longest word in any of Shakespeare’s plays: honorificabilitudinitatibus. Costard says it and it means “with honorablenesses.” In for the Long Haul The play also contains Shakespeare’s longest single scene clocking in at 1016 lines. Just to compare, the entirety of The Comedy of Errors runs just 1786 lines. The Ins and Outs of Love It’s believed the play was first performed at Christmastime for Queen Elizabeth in 1597.

The play fell out of favor and wasn’t really produced again until almost 240 years later. Hey, this is kind of familiar… If you’ve seen or read other Shakespeare plays, you’ll notice that Love’s Labour’s Lost has some situations and characters that will seem similar. Like The Two Gentlemen of Verona, we get two clowns in Love’s Labour’s Lost. You’ll find shades of Beatrice and Benedick’s squabbling from Much Ado About Nothing in the banter between Berowne and Rosaline. The buffoonish Prince of Aragon in The Merchant of Venice could very well be the brother of the bragging Spaniard Don Armado. And like A Midsummer Night’s Dream there is a play-within-the play that wraps up the events in Love’s Labour’s Lost. Shakespeare very well may have been trying out some ideas in Love’s Labour’s Lost that he refined in some of the later plays. Two by Two by Two by Two by Two You just know that the “He-man Woman Avoiders Club” set up at the start of the play by the King and his buddies is not going to last after the arrival of the Princess and her ladies.

One by one the boys give up their vows of abstinence to pursue their loves, resulting in four different couples with four different exploits that we get to follow. And on top of that, there’s the rivalry between Don Armado and Costard for the hand of Jacquenetta. Shakespeare has never set so many love matches spinning before in a play, so make sure you keep track of who’s pairing up with whom. Yeah, I Invented That Shakespeare borrowed and adapted much of the plots to his plays from other literary sources, but the action in Love’s Labour’s Lost is entirely his own creation. The play does allude to some actual historical events (the French War of Religion) and borrows names of leading figures of the day (King of Navarre, Dumaine, Longaville, Berowne) for his characters. And the character of Don Armado may be a humorous dig at the fallen glory of the Spanish Armada. The Comic Toybox A pedant, a braggart, and a fool walk into a bar… Several of the more exaggerated comic characters in Love’s Labour’s Lost can trace their ancestry back to the classic Italian commedia dell’arte tradition.

Audiences at the time could easily hook into the habits and motivations of these character types while Shakespeare could then use them to elaborate on his own themes. You Call That a Happy Ending? Usually Shakespeare’s comedies end happily; there’s a wedding or two or three, people dance, there’s much merry making. But Shakespeare’s a sly one. He leaves us hanging at the end of Love’s Labour’s Lost wondering if the newly minted couples actually will live “happily ever after.” Or, was he setting us up for a sequel? What Happens After a Year and a Day? With all the unresolved romances and promises to meet again, if any of Shakespeare’s plays was screaming for a sequel, it is Love’s Labour’s Lost. There’s been debate about the existence of a play titled Love’s Labour’s Won and whether or not it continued the stories left dangling or whether it’s a completely unrelated lost play. There is evidence that a play by that title was written by Shakespeare, but no copies of it are known to exist. Love's Labour's Lost - Shakespeare in quarto Love's Labour's Lost Creation of the play Love’s Labour’s Lost is dated to 1594-1595.

The play cannot be later than 1598, when it was mentioned by Francis Meres in Palladis Tamia and published in the first surviving quarto. There is little other evidence with which to date it. Although there is apparently a relationship between Love’s Labour’s Lost and the revels at Gray’s Inn between December 1594 and March 1595, it is impossible to prove that Shakespeare borrowed from these entertainments. The play’s style links it to Richard II, Romeo and Juliet, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which are usually dated to this period. Early performances The title-page of the first quarto states that Love’s Labour’s Lost was ‘presented before her Highnes this last Christmas’. The play may have been performed at court during the Christmas season 1597-1598 or even earlier. The Lord Chamberlain’s Men are first known to have performed at court on 26 and 27 December 1594. However, the play could also have been played initially in the public theatre rather than at court.

Love’s Labour’s Lost is listed as one of the plays given during the Christmas season of 1604-1605, when it may have been performed either at Robert Cecil’s house in the Strand or at Southampton House (the London residence of Shakespeare’s patron) during January 1605. The title-page of the second quarto of 1631 declares that the play was ‘acted by his Maiesties Seruants at the Blacke-Friers and the Globe’. This suggests that Love’s Labour’s Lost was performed after 1608, when the King’s Men acquired their indoor theatre at Blackfriars , and that the play continued to be performed into the reign of Charles I. It has been suggested that the comedian William Kemp first played the role of Costard. Publication in quarto and folio Love’s Labour’s Lost appeared in four editions before 1642. First quarto, 1598. The first of Shakespeare’s published works to have his name on the title-page. The text is described on the title-page as ‘Newly corrected and augmented’, and it is believed that there was an earlier quarto of the play which does not survive.

It is thought that the first quarto was printed from this predecessor, which itself was printed from a manuscript originating with Shakespeare. First folio, 1623. Printed from the first quarto. Variations between the folio and quarto texts suggest that a theatrical manuscript of some sort was also consulted for the folio. Second quarto, 1631. Printed from the first folio. Second folio, 1632. Printed from the first folio. The first quarto was printed in 1598 by William White for Cuthbert Burby. Although there was no initial entry in the Stationers’ Register, this does record the transfer of Love’s Labour’s Lost from Burby to Nicholas Ling on 22 January 1607. Less than a year later, on 19 November 1607, the play was transferred from Ling to John Smethwick. The second quarto was printed by William Stansby for John Smethwick in 1631. British Library copies of Love's Labour's Lost contains detailed bibliographic descriptions of all the quarto copies of the play.

Shakespeare’s sources Shakespeare apparently used no specific sources for Love’s Labour’s Lost. General influences on the play and its language include the works of Sir Philip Sidney and John Lyly. There may also be links to entertainments such as the 1594-1595 revels at Gray’s Inn. The French wars of religion, and particularly events surrounding Henri de Navarre (later King Henry IV of France) and his first wife Marguerite de Valois, have been investigated by scholars. The cultural life of the English court, including the School of Night and its opponents, have also been explored. However, neither French politics nor English literary and philosophical debate seem to have more than tangential relationships to the play. Love’s Labour’s Lost can be related to Shakespeare’s other works of around the same time, including Romeo and Juliet, Richard II, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. April, with a scene of ladies in the countryside. Edmund Spenser, The Shepheardes Calender, 1579. British Library, G.11532, f. 11v.

Larger image Story of the play Note: the links below will take you to the page in the quarto where each act begins, according to standard modern editions. (The quartos themselves have no act divisions.) The quarto shown for each play is always the earliest in the Library's collection - unless it is a 'bad' quarto in which case it is the earliest 'good' quarto. Love’s Labour’s Lost is set in the kingdom of Navarre. ( Act 1 ) Ferdinand, King of Navarre, and his companions Berowne, Longaville, and Dumaine swear to devote themselves to study for three years. They vow to see no women during that time. The clown Costard is brought before the King for breaking his decree forbidding women to come near the court. Costard has been found with the dairymaid Jacquenetta. The Spanish knight Armado arrives. He is in love with Jacquenetta. ( Act 2 ) The Princess of France arrives on an embassy to the King of Navarre, with her ladies Rosaline, Maria, and Katherine. They are granted an audience with King Ferdinand and his companions.

( Act 3 ) Armado employs Costard to send a love-letter to Jacquenetta. Berowne gives Costard a love-letter for Rosaline. ( Act 4 ) By mistake, Costard delivers Armado’s letter to the Princess and her ladies. He admits that he was to deliver a letter from Berowne to Rosaline. Still confused, Costard delivers Berowne’s letter to Jacquenetta. Berowne enters, alone, and confesses he is in love with Rosaline. He hides as King Ferdinand enters reading a love-poem for the Princess. The King hides in his turn, as Longaville arrives with a love-sonnet to Maria. Then Longaville hides as Dumaine enters declaring his love for Katherine. Each lord is revealed as having broken his oath against women. Berowne finally comes forward, protesting his own innocence until Jacquenetta and Costard arrive with his letter to Rosaline. All four men resolve to forget their vows and woo their ladies. ( Act 5 ) The King and his companions, disguised, visit the Princess and her ladies. The women see through their disguise and make fun of them.

When the men return, having shed their disguise, they are forced to admit they are in love. Armado, Costard, and other locals put on a pageant of the nine worthies to entertain the King, the Princess and their followers. Before the pageant is over, a messenger arrives with news of the death of the King of France. The Princess, now Queen, and her ladies must return home. She decrees a year of mourning and sets a year’s penance for the King before she will see him again and think of marrying him. Similar responses are made by Katherine to Dumaine, Maria to Longaville, and Rosaline to Berowne. The King and his companions, and the Princess and her ladies, part.

Question: Which Shakespeare play is set in Navarre?
Answer: Loves Labours Lost